By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Sept 12: Two teams from two Sarawak schools have secured their spots in the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF)-32 CanSat International Competition to be held in Thailand from Oct 27–30 after they each placed third in their respective categories at the Malaysia Rocket CanSat Competition (MRCC) 2026 finals.
In a TVS news report, the SMK Padungan team placed third in the 1km Rocket & CanSat category, while Sekolah Seni Malaysia Sarawak finished third in the 1KM Rocket category at the competition held at Felcra Seberang, Perak, from Sept 8 to 10.
The achievement has paved the way for both teams to represent Sarawak at the APRSAF-32 CanSat International Competition in Thailand, which will bring together secondary school student teams from across the Asia-Pacific region.
Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Sarawak (Tegas) chairman Datuk Len Talif Salleh said the achievement showed the effectiveness of the Sarawak Rocketeers CanSat Challenge (SRC) in giving young Sarawakians opportunities to develop their skills in STEM and aerospace technology.
“This achievement shows that when young people are given the space to explore and test their ideas, they can take those skills to a higher level.
“Tegas will continue to provide opportunities to empower local talent and support the aspirations of the Post COVID-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030,” he said.
The two teams were among three Sarawak representatives, alongside SMK Penrissen, that advanced to MRCC 2026 after winning SRC 2026.
SRC is a Tegas initiative that exposes Sarawak secondary school students to project-based learning through developing CanSats and rockets.
The National Planetarium and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) led MRCC 2026, in collaboration with the High Energy Material Research Laboratory (Hemrel) and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM).
The competition brought together 650 students from 130 teams nationwide, with 425 students from 104 teams qualifying for the finals and launch phase in Pasir Salak, Perak.
Throughout the competition, students applied their skills through project presentations, CanSat system preparation, technical tasks, and rocket launches, while gaining hands-on experience in aerospace technology alongside teams from Malaysia and other countries.
A CanSat simulates a real satellite, integrated into the volume and shape of a soft drink can. — DayakDaily
